And It All Begins Again
by kaari8
Summary: Seven years after the war began, Naruto finally kills Madara and ends it. With everything destroyed and all his loved ones dead, he goes in the past to try and bring a different future - a better one. AU TimeTravel.
1. Chapter 1

**Okk so this is just an idea i had that i wanted to write about! Hopefully i'll actually be able to complete this story aha. **

**Summary: After seven years of war, Naruto has finally beat Madara. Everythings destroyed though and everyone he loves is dead so he goes back in time to try and stop the war from ever happening! AU TimeTravel! There probably wont be any pairings in this! **

**Disclaimer: I dont own, or have any claim or credit, to Naruto in any way!**

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><p><strong>We did it,<strong> Kurama, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, thought tiredly. Even his near endless chakra had almost been exhausted in the legendary battle that ended the war, once and for all. **Congratulations brat, you've finally won. **Somehow, the congratulations didnt bring any feelings of relief.

_But was it worth it? _Naruto wondered. The war that had caused all the great nations to unite against an enemy stronger then anyone could believe was finally over. So many lives had been lost in the process though that the 23-year-old Hokage honestly didn't know what to do next.

_Sakura. _Her faces flashed into his mind, smiling as the life seeped slowly from her eyes. If he didn't look at her mangled stomach and legs then he could almost imagine that she was merely falling asleep. He had tried to forget her last words to him but never truly could.

_Kakashi. _His sensei, the man who taught him the ways of a shinobi. Dead. He had almost made it to the end as well. When Naruto had been made Hokage, Kakashi had been his right-hand-man the whole way through. He had sacrificed himself – taken the hit meant for Naruto. His remains had been practically unidentifiable when they collected them after the battle.

_Iruka._ His older-brother in all but blood. His death had been slow and painful. Madara had kidnapped and tortured him as a congratulations present for Naruto being promoted to Hokage. His remains, when they were finally delivered to Konoha's front gates, had caused even seasoned war veterans to pale in horror.

_Shikamaru. Ibiki Neji. Shino. Gaara. Tsunade. Choji. Ino. Shikaku. Asuma. Lee. B. Kiba. Anko. Hayate. Temari. Yuugao. Gai. Ten Ten. Inochi. Hinata._ Kurenai. All his lost loved ones flashed before his eyes, bringing more painful memories with them.

_Sasuke. _This one the most painful. After all his attempts, Naruto had finally managed to relieve his best friend of his hatred. The Uchiha had joined the war in their side and they had fought together once more. The battle where he fell was known as one of the most legendary of all time. He had singlehandedly wiped out a whole army of Zetsu's clones before finally collapsing. Like Sakura, Naruto hated to remember his teammates last words.

Memories were his biggest enemy now.

_What do I do now?_ Naruto thought, desolately. He was Hokage of a non-existent village. The only villages left even remotely functional were Suna and Iwa. All the other Jinchuriki had fallen, the country in ruins. There was literally nothing left to go on with. The world had collapsed into chaos. How could you rebuild if there was so little people to do it with? And he was so, so tired.

Here he was, lying on his back next to the dead body of his greatest enemy, slowly bleeding to death through several severe wounds, and all he could think was that he wanted to sleep. He didn't want to get up and try to fix the world. He had killed Madara, the man responsible for the deaths of all his friends. The last couple of years hadn't been about saving the world – it had been far too late for that – but about getting revenge. Sasuke would be so proud.

**Is this the end? **Kurama whispered, his voice oddly accepting. For a creature who had lived for millennia. The end suddenly didn't seem so daunting. It seemed like a gift.

_I don't know. There's nothing left here for us._

The Kyuubi sighed in agreement. **There's nothing here, but we could always use ****_that._**

Naruto's eyes, which had been fluttering closed, suddenly opened wide, his utter exhaustion forgotten for the moment. He had studied Fuuinjutsu tirelessly after Jiariya's death and had become a true master. After he became Hokage and just before the world truly turned to ruin, Naruto had developed a seal theory on a space/time jutsu that could – theoretically – enable him to travel through time. It was just a theory however, and the risks were endless, but if you had nothing to lose, why wouldn't you try? He could change the future, stop this horrible war from ever happening.

_Do we have enough chakra? _Naruto asked his single remaining friend. He thought about all the moments he could go back to, he could meet his father, his mother, stop his father from dying that night and seal the Kyuubi in his baby self himself. That way he could grow up with a father. The village wouldn't have hated him all his childhood.

**Not enough to go back that far.** There was an apologetic note in the foxes' voice. **The very furthest we could possibly go back to is when you were 12 or 13, 11 if we're lucky**

Naruto's hopes diminished. It seemed that he was still doomed to have a lonely childhood no matter what. _The earlier we could go back, the better._ A sudden thought occurred to him. _The paradox though. We discussed this before but now we're thinking of actually doing it… what do you think will happen?_

**Time isn't what mortals perceive it to be. Its not simply a straight line of cause and effect, but more likely made up of a big ball of wibbly… wobbly… timey-wimey… stuff.**

Naruto couldn't hold back a snort. That was possibly the worst description he had ever heard. _Timey-wimey stuff?_

**Don't laugh brat. **Kurama hissed, but there was amusement in his tone as well. **It's the easiest way to explain it. Anyway, by going back in time, you could possibly create an alternate or parallel reality, in which the war doesn't happen. Saying this, you could also change nothing. Usually there are major events in time that are crucial if you want to change the future. Some are obvious, like if you stopped Itachi from massacring the Uchihas, then Sasuke wouldn't feel the need to seek revenge against him, but some might seem insignificant then, but are actually extremely important later, like when Sasuke stopped Haku from killing you all those years ago. It was instinct for him and he didn't mean to do it, but that's what gave you the faith that he could be saved. If you went back, what would you do to prevent the war from happening?**

Naruto thought about it for a moment. Out of all the moments in his life, what could he do to stop the war from happening?

_Well, I could go back and tell someone what's going to happen. The third most likely. Then, with his help, we could plan out the steps from there. If the village wasn't weakened by the invasion of the sound during the chunin exams, then we could probably have withstood Peins attack much better. And if I stopped Pein before he leveled Konoha then that would make us even stronger. Finally, if I killed Madara before he started the war, then that would stop it from ever happening in the first place. _With every sentence, Naruto grew stronger in his resolve. _Also, I could be there for my younger self. Even at 12, I was still so lonely. I could give advice and try to prepare myself in some way. I had so much potential but barely anyone saw it. I could also help Sasuke. He told me that he regretted leaving the village more then anything, and would go back and change it if he could. I could show his younger self why he should stay. I owe Sasuke that much._

Kurama approved of his Jinchuriki's idea. **You've really grown up well brat. They would be proud.**

He didn't have to go into detail about who 'they' were. Naruto's friends, his family, the people he failed to protect in the end.

_Ok, lets do this._

Slowly, Naruto rolled over and got to his knees. He ignored the body beside him, the bodies around them, and crawled over to a gap in the carnage a few feet away. He only need a few feet to draw the seal. He dipped his shaking fingers into the gaping wound on his stomach and carefully began drawing out the seal required, Kurama encouraging him all the way. It was a slow process, the slightest mistake would cause it to be ineffective at best, but finally he was done, just as the edges of his vision began to turn blurry.

**Nearly done. Now, lay your hand in the middle and on the count of three, force whatever chakra you have left into the seal. Focus on something major from your childhood, something you have clear memories of. It will be easier for the jutsu that way.**

Naruto nodded, determined.

**_One. _**They thought together. **_Two. Three!_**

Naruto screamed as he forced everything he had left into the seal. Bright light flared from it and burned his body. He couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel anything but the pain that burned through his body. Somewhere in his mind he was aware of Kurama screaming alongside him. He didn't know how long his was in that nothing-place, the place full of pain. It could have been seconds, days, years, or centuries, but finally he found himself lying on something spiky, but soft at the same time.

The smell of earth invaded his nose and Naruto turned his head to see a single swing swaying gently in the breeze. Of course. Out of all the places of his childhood, the swing at the playground was one of the ones that was clearest in his memories. The sound of children laughing and parents warning was in the distance. Buildings surrounded him. This was Konoha before the war.

_We did it, Kurama. _He thought. Even his thoughts were exhausted. He could feel his consciousness slipping. _I don't know _when _we are, but I know _where_ we are._

The last thing he heard before blackness overtook him was shouts and the sound of running footsteps.

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><p><strong>So that was the prologue! If any of you caught the doctor who reference there, i love you :* ahah just letting you all know that i dont claim any ownership for that reference either! that goes to doctor who! <strong>

**Please review and give me your opinions! any advice is always welcome!**

**Kaari x**


	2. Chapter 2 - Relevations

**So heres the second chapter! hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto or anything to do with it**

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><p>Naruto awoke with a groan. Everything hurt. Even breathing. He opened his eyes and it felt like he was peeling them off parchment. Briefly, he wondered how long he'd been out. Taking a curious glance around, he realized he was in a hospital and groaned again. He hated hospitals. A calendar was on the wall and with a start he realized that it had actually worked. This was the day that his genin self took the graduation exam. He had pulled time travel off. His wounds had been bandaged sometime while he was unconscious and to his great surprise, they were still wide open, Kurama's chakra had done nothing to heal them.<p>

_Kurama! _He searched his head for the familiar presence but to his great dismay, couldn't find it. The annoying fox had grown to be a friend to Naruto long ago, his last friend.

**Arghhh**. A groan sounded in his head and the blonde Hokage sighed in relief. **That took a lot more out of me then I expected. My chakra is practically non-existent. Its going to take me a couple of days before I'm back to normal from this.**

Naruto grimaced and got out of the bed, wincing as his various wounds protested the movement. Thankfully, he had always had a high pain tolerance.

_I'm not staying in here any longer. I need to speak to the Sandiame immediately._

**I agree, just be careful brat. **Naruto had long ago given up trying to get the Kyuubi to call him by his name. Kurama only did it in the more serious of circumstances. He preferred to think of it as a term of endearment.** If you need me, shout, but otherwise let me sleep and recover okay?**

Naruto nodded acceptance and made his way to the shelves at the corner of the room, pulling the needles out of his wrists. Someone had dressed him in a hospital gown while he was out and needed to get some proper clothes. His clothes had been torn to shreds in that last fight and knew that they weren't going to be ever worn again. Ever. That would come later though. Carefully, he made his way to window and, very gingerly, he jumped out. Naruto had to bite back a gasp when he landed and waited for the pain to pass. As it subsided, he strolled down the street, ignoring the looks he was pulling. He took the back alleys and passages until the reached the Hokage building, with the open window at the very top. An ANBU patrol circled the building, but they were so slack it was almost funny. Within seconds, even in his injured state, Naruto was leaping on top of the buildings, running up the wall, and positioned behind the Hokage.

No one had noticed a thing.

Somehow, deep down the prankster in him had survived, and he couldn't resist bending down until he was level with the old mans ear.

"Boo!" he shouted, pleased when the Sandaime jumped so badly it was like he was have a seizure.

ANBU were on him within seconds and he didn't resist as his face was unceremoniously shoved into the ground. Hard.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Sarutobi demanded, appalled that he had been caught unawares by a potential enemy.

Naruto sighed. No one got his jokes anymore.

"Let me up and I'll explain."

After a moments hesitation, Sarutobi gestured to his ANBU and they allowed him to stand, albeit still holding his arms tightly. The Sandaime gasped when he got a good look at his hospital gown clad intruder. The man looked exactly like the Yondaime.

"Minato?" He choked out. It was impossible. There was no way.

The blonde haired ninja sighed and blew his shoulder length hair out of his eyes. "Wrong. But I'm not a danger to you. If I was I would have killed you the moment I was in your office, not alerted you to my presence. I do need to talk to you alone though. Urgently."

The ANBU went to protest but Sarutobi halted them. If they Minato look-a-like had meant to hurt him, it was true he had his chance.

"You may leave us, Crane and Wolf." He said slowly, his eyes never leaving the cerulean blue ones of the man in front of him.

After a moments hesitation, they were alone.

"Explain yourself." Sarutobi demanded. In no mood for games. He had received a report of a severely wounded man being found near the academy and brought to the hospital, but the report hadn't said anything about him look nearly exactly like the late Yondaime.

And so, Naruto began his story. It wasn't quick, and he didn't even say everything, but by the time he finished, it was near dusk.

Sarutobi was staring at him with wide eyes. He wouldn't have believed it for a second, if the man in front of him hadn't known things that he shouldn't have known unless he was from the future. It terrified him to think that the story he had been told was an actual possibility, had actually happened.

"So what you're telling me." He summarized. "Is that you are Naruto, the son of the Yondaime and Rokudaime from the future, and you have come back in time after winning a terrible war that killed everyone and destroyed the world, to stop it from ever happening again?"

Naruto tilted his head to the side slightly as if considering it, and when he looked back at Sarotubi, there was no way he was lying. The look in his eyes was one of a man who had seen everything and everyone he had ever loved destroyed and burned around him. It was of a man who truly had been hurt in the worst possible ways. It was the extreme of the eyes of the most broken soldiers of war.

"Yes." He said flatly, and Sarutobi didn't doubt him.

The Sandaime let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "What are you going to do?" He asked, still reeling from shock.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. I was going to take it day by day I guess. I _do _know that I have to kill Madara." A look of such hatred blossomed in his eyes that Sarutobi flinched. "I owe it to everyone back in my timeline to protect their selves here. And there are a couple of things I want to change not from the war." _Like yours and Jiraiya's deaths,_ he added silently.

Sarutobi nodded slowly. "Alright then. But you can't go around like that. The likeness between you and Minato is too strong. People would ask too many questions. And you can't go around using the name Naruto, its not common enough."

Naruto nodded, he hadn't thought of that. "What do you suggest?"

"I suggest you use a henge to dye your hair another colour, and pick a new name. I can write up some papers for you saying that you are from another village and are requesting transfer."

Naruto nodded – it was a good plan – and scratched the back of his head. "I can henge my hair black, and say that I'm a ninja from the village hidden in the sky. I went their on a mission in my own timeline once so I know a bit about them, and their a very secretive village, anyone asking questions about one of their ninjas would be turned away immediately."

"Good plan, and what is your new name going to be?"

Naruto frowned. "Make it… Akira Naito."

It was actually the undercover name he had used whilst he was in his mission in the village hidden in the sky.

"Okay then. Akira Naito, welcome to Konoha." Sarutobi welcomed. "I'm guessing you weren't released from the hospital, so you should go ba-" he quickly backtracked when he saw the hard refusal in the younger mans eyes. "Or not. Here is some money for clothes, food, and rent for the next couple of days. I'll instate you as a jonin in the village and you can do missions to earn your money after that."

Naruto nodded and took the vest and leaf headband that the Sandaime was offering. "Thank you, old man."

Sarutobi's eyes softened slightly. "Go find an apartment Na-Akira. Get some rest, you look like you need it." He said, eyeing the too-thin face and deep bags. "I'll send a letter to the hospital."

Akira nodded his thanks and quickly henged his hair black before turning. The resemblance was still there, but not as blaringly obvious as before. "I'll be seeing you then."

And then he left, leaving the Sandaime with a lot more on his mind then he had woken up with that morning.

The first thing Akira did was purchased several pairs of black shinobi pants, black t-shirts, and comfortable ninja sandals. He had long ago outgrown his liking for bright colours, realizing just how stupid and impractical it had been. After that was done however, he simply wandered the streets of his village, relishing in the hustle and bustle of that place he called home. It was strange seeing it so… happy… Throughout the war, people didn't linger out on the streets in fear of an attack and stayed in their homes. It hadn't been nearly as pleasant as it was right now by any means.

He had an idea of where he wanted to live, and knew the way there off by heart. It wasn't the nicest place by far, but it was convenient for one of his goals. He didn't rush and within half an hour Akira was standing outside the ramshackle apartment housing that he younger self lived in. It was actually quite appalling how disgusting it was. The place opposite it however, was a little bit nicer and Akira quickly rented one of the rooms there on the top floor. The place was very plain, with a single bedroom and bathroom, and small living room and kitchen, but it would more then meet his needs. He didn't have many possessions so its not like he needed to unpack, and instead just spread out on the bed.

Tomorrow morning would be Kakashi's test for his team, and Akira wanted to give them a little bit of advice first. Then he could decide what he wanted to do first.

Tonight however, he would do nothing. He didn't want to sleep, didn't want to be plagued with the nightmare memories that invaded his mind while he slept, so instead he just lay there thinking and planning until finally he couldn't put off sleep any longer. Sometimes Kurama could keep the nightmares away, but there was no chance of that happening whilst he was recovering. Akira would just have to suck it up and be a man. Shit.

At 4:30 the next morning Akira woke with a jolt, completely covered in sweat. That particular dream was a pretty common one actually. He's in a pitch black room, stumbling around trying to find a way out, when the floor drops beneath his feet and suddenly he's drowning and reaching up, trying to get to the surface and he can see all of the people he failed in the war just staring down at him, watching him, as he drowns.

Realistically, Akira knew that it wasn't his fault that his friends died, but that didn't stop the guilt. Survivors guilt they call it. There was no point trying to get back to sleep so instead he had a quick shower and got dressed before leaving. His wounds were still raw and ached irritatingly, but not nearly as bad as the day previously. It seemed that Kurama was putting the chakra he regained to use. He would give it another day before the wounds were fully healed.

The streets were almost completely empty at this time, with only one or two shinobi darting about, and Akira didn't bother any of them. He remembered there being a few 24-hour restaurants around here somewhere and just had to find one. Eventually, he found a small stand and sat down, ordering a bowl of ramen. He had held onto his love of ramen, even if he didn't eat nearly as much of it as he had in his youth. His youth. Here he was 23 years old, and he already considered himself old._ I suppose its not how many years you've lived that makes you old though, but how many things you've experienced._ And he had experienced a great many things.

He felt himself growing full so quickly that it wasn't healthy but made himself finish the bowl. Surviving on battle rations and soldier pills for months at a time really wasn't healthy for you but it was what he had grown used to.

Akira paid for his food then slowly made his way to training ground 7, content to wait for his younger selves to arrive. He guessed that it was almost 6 by the time he got there and tried to remember what time they were supposed to meet. Maybe 8? Whatever the time, it didn't really matter. He didn't have anything else to do until his wounds healed and he could go on missions. The sun was just rising over the trees as he laid on the grass, just relaxing. It was nice. He had forgotten what it felt like to just relax. There wasn't going to be any alarms screaming about another attack, any shouting or loud noises. There was only the sound of nature and the birds around him. The clouds slowly moved across the sky and Akira was happy to just watch their progress. He used to always watch the clouds with Shikamaru in his original timeline. It was then that the lazy Nara would come up with his best strategies. It was such a peaceful pastime, just relaxing, not being interrupted by any-

"HEY! YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON OUR TRAINING GROUND?"

Akira scowled and propped himself on his elbow to glare at the boy in front of him. Neon orange met his gaze and Akira winced. He had truly never realized how ridiculous he had looked in that jumpsuit. He briefly glanced at the other two and felt a horrid lurch in his chest

"Resting." He said shortly, and then returned to laying down with his eyes closed, supposedly ignoring the three genin. Instead, he was trying to get his emotions under control. He had long ago gotten over the death of the Sandiame, so seeing him again hadn't produced the raw emotions running through his body at this moment. When he saw Sakura now, as the innocent little fangirl, he also saw her in the future, tears streaming down her face and soaked in Ino's blood as she tried to save her best friend/rival. When he saw Sasuke, he saw him older, smirking as he turned to Akira and said that he would be alright, an army of clones couldn't stop him. He had been wrong.

He hadn't prepared himself to face his friends but knew he had to act like he didn't recognize them or else someone might get suspicious. He had to lock his emotions behind the wall like he had in the latter years of the war, or else he be overwhelmed. He took a deep breath and when he released, he was calm.

"Hello? I asked you a question!"

Akira opened his eyes but this time stood up instead of just propping himself up. "And what was that question again?"

Naruto scowled. "I asked what you were doing in our training ground."

Akira scratched the back of his head, as if deep in thought. "Well… I was resting."

The three genins sweatdropped and before they could reply, Akira spoke once more.

"What are you three doing here? As far as I know kids aren't supposed to be on shinobi grounds."

Sasuke glared at him, Sakura looked at Sasuke, and Naruto puffed out his chest and jabbed a thumb into it. "We're here to take our genin test! Kakashi-sensei said to meet him here at 7 sharp! So you better get out or else!"

Sakura hit Naruto on the back of the head. "Baka-Naruto! Can't you see he's a jonin?"

Naruto coughed and scratched his head, almost identical to the way Akira had previously. "Oh… Sorry…"

Again, the other two sweatdropped, with Akira joining them. He had forgotten how silly he was back then.

"So anyway, while we wait, why don't we introduce ourselves. I'm Akira Naito." He said, needing to hear Sasuke speak.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Future Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping in the air.

The boy had expected the black haired jonin to laugh, and was amazed when he simply gave him a small smile and nodded, a strange look in his eyes.

"I'm sure you will be." And there was no trace of mockery in his tone. "You next," he said, gesturing to Sasuke."

The Uchiha scowled. "Susuke Uchiha."

Hearing his voice again was better then Akira had hoped.

"And you?"

"My name is Sakura Haruno." Sakura introduced timidly. She usually wouldn't trust strangers with her name, but there was something about the man in front of her, something that made her feel comfortable around him.

"Well. Now we all know each other, isn't that nice?"

Two murmured yes's and one grunt met his exclamation. Well, that was better then he was expecting.

"Here's some advice kids," he said flippantly, like it wasn't crucial that they understand what he's about to tell them. "In your test, remember that your comrades are vital to success. You cant do everything by yourself, and only the strongest shinobi can admit when they need help. Its not a weakness, it's a strength." Sasuke fidgeted, getting the feeling that the words were directed at him. "Remember that in your test. Well, I'd better be going now, things to do, stuff to see, people to meet."

And with that, he shunshined away, leaving the three genin standing there dumbfounded.

"That was weird." Naruto said after a moment. "But I like him."

Sasuke grunted, assumedly in agreement, and Sakura just frowned slightly. There was something about that man that was familiar, she just couldn't put her finger on it…


End file.
